Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (21 February 1794-21 June 1876) was the President of Mexico for eleven terms over 22 years, leading Mexico three times in 1833, from 1834 to 1835, in 1839, from 1841 to 1842, in 1843, in 1844, twice in 1847, and from 1853 to 1855. Nicknamed "the Napoleon of the West", Santa Anna gained renown for his skills as a politician and a general, and Santa Anna fought against the Republic of Texas in 1836, against France in 1838, and against the United States in 1847, losing his leg during the Pastry War with France.

Biography
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was born on 21 February 1794 in Xalapa, Veracruz, New Spain to a criollo (of pure Spanish descent) family. Santa Anna served in the Spanish Army during the Mexican War of Independence, and he fought against Mexican insurgents until Agustin de Iturbide's defection to the rebels in 1821. Santa Anna joined forces with Iturbide and helped in creating the First Mexican Empire; in 1823, he would rebel and overthrow the empire and create a democracy in Mexico.

President of Mexico
In 1833, Santa Anna was elected President of Mexico, but he was bored with governing; he left this to the liberal Valentin Gomez Farias. Over the next few years, the presidency changed hands several times, and he decided to adopt the anti-liberal Plan of Cuernavaca in 1834 to reverse the liberal policies implemented by Gomez. Santa Anna formed a Catholic and conservative government, and he began centralizing power in a military dictatorship in 1835. Several states openly rebelled against the centralization of power, leading to the formation of the Republic of Texas, the Republic of Yucatan, and the Republic of the Rio Grande. In 1835, his army crushed an uprising in Zacatecas and looted the city, but his army would not be as fortunate in Texas. The Texian Army ambushed his army at San Jacinto on 21 April 1836, and Santa Anna was captured by Otto McNab while hiding in a marsh after the battle. Yancey Quimper presented Santa Anna to general Sam Houston, who forced Santa Anna to accept Texian independence.

Defender of Mexico
In 1837, Santa Anna returned to Mexico from captivity in Texas, and the Mexican government gave him command of the Mexican Army in order to repulse France's invasion of Veracruz in 1838. He lost his left leg to a cannonball during the fighting at Veracruz, and he had the leg buried with full military honors. In 1842, Santa Anna led a failed expedition into Texas, which was soon to be annexed by the United States. Santa Anna was exiled to Cuba by the Mexican government in 1845 due to their hostility towards his autocratic power, only to return in 1847 during the Mexican-American War. Santa Anna was defeated by Zachary Taylor and the US Army several times, including at Churubusco and Buena Vista. After the war's end, he went to Jamaica and Colombia, only to return to Mexico in 1853 after the new conservative government invited him to return. In 1854, the Plan of Ayutla again removed him from power, and he went into exile once more. Santa Anna would return home in the 1870s, and he died in 1876 at the age of 82.